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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Sunday, July 31, 2016

Anger

What is the real origin of my own anger? Is it the ego defending its territory, or is it something that has its source in the desire for the well-being of all? (73)”
                                           Jean-Yves Leloup, Compassion and Meditation:
                                           The Spiritual Dynamic between Buddhism and Christianity
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I find myself angry these days
Not a “happy place” to be sure

I don’t like it when I am angry
I don’t like myself when I am angry

the quick wit and sharp tongue
that was so handy growing up as a ‘late bloomer”
(and thus physically smaller than my peers)
is way too evident in these trying times

I find myself deleting a lot of my own comments lately
Ashamed that I ever wrote them

I find myself listening less and talking more
(a read feat for me)

and so I have begun to wonder
what is this all about?
where does it come from?

It could be that I am just trying to establish myself
Carving out space for my ego

or I could be defending my “perspective”
and trying to convince everyone that I am right
(and they are wrong)

I think there are elements of this
to be sure
in far too many things I write and say

but I think that it is more than that
I think at least part of it, I pray that part of it,
is an understanding  that there are just some things that must be said
and certain things that must be fought for, and against.

I hope that my anger, such as it is
Truly has, at times,
 “its source in the desire for the well-being of all”

that my offense is for the poor, the vulnerable
the oppressed,
the minimized

the problem is of course
knowing when it is ego, or fear

and when it is what
for the sake of anything better,
I will call “righteous anger”

God!
Help me to know the difference!
And teach me how to respond differently!


Tripping over Joy

“TRIPPING OVER JOY

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.”

― Hafiz,


Oh Lord we try sooooo hard to be your people
We struggle and struggle to be
Kind
Compassionate
Giving
Forgiving

We carelessly throw about words like “holy”
And “righteous”

But we have little idea what those words even mean
our whole lives reveal the fact
That we don’t have a clue

Ah yes Lord
It is about surrender, isn’t
It is about relaxing into your presence
Giving you a little room to move

It is understanding that you are constantly, constantly
Moving in our lives to create something good

And our job is throw up our hands
Smile
Say, “you win”
And dance a happy dance!

Child of God

Shane Claiborne talks about a talk he once had with an old hippie friend who, he says “loves Jesus and smokes a lot of weed”.  He and the friends often end up in friendly debates about faith and the Bible.  One day he said to Shane, “Jesus never talked to a prostitute”.  Shane immediately went on the offensive.  “Sure he did” and got ready to spar.  But then his friend looked him in the eye and said “Listen, Jesus never talked to a prostitute because he didn’t see a prostitute.  He just saw a child of God he was madly in love with.”
_____________________________________

Ah child of God
Battered and beaten

Ah child of God
Confused and lost

Ah child of God
Fear full and anxious

Ah child of God
one seen
by the eyes of love
the eyes of the sacred
the eyes of
God

seen as that beautiful
wrinkly wonderful
newborn
who

ah
has five toes
and five fingers
and yes, its father’s nose
and mother’s smile

that perfect child
of promise
of The Promise
who is
deeply
madly
loved